Abstract

94 BOOK REVIEWS More problematic than the grids themselves is the case made for the revival and trans- mission of the classical technology by which they were created. For this subject, the volume relies heavily on the Historia Ecclesiastica, and seeks to tie the archaeological evidence closely into Bede’s championing narrative. The grid planning evident at the Canterbury churches is thus viewed as a result of Augustine himself bringing surveyors on his mission in 597, after which the techniques were taken northward to plan the monumental complex at Yeavering in the 620s. Likewise, Wilfred (d.710) is credited with extending the technology to Winchester, and Benedict Biscop to Monkwearmouth and Jarrow, apparently as a result of their entrepreneurial zeal. While a solid case is made for the broad social and cultural milieux in which careful grid planning may have emerged, attempting to deploy the archaeology into the narrative of documented individuals and events stretches credulity. The project team have also noted the differential use of short perches of 15 imperial feet (4.57 m), which largely appear in eastern England and the East Midlands, and grids which draw upon long perches of 18 feet (5.5 m) that are found further south.